Part I: Cruise Safety.- Part II: Cruise Design - Business Models, Destinations and Products.- Part III: Human Capital - Training, Education and Research.
Prof. Dr. Alexis Papathanassis studied at the University of Bath and the London School of Economics (UK). He completed his PhD in Economic Sciences at the Leibniz University (Hanover) in Germany. Prior to joining fulltime academia, Alexis pursued a career at TUI. Upon his departure from the group as a business development manager with TUI Infotec, Alexis had already participated and successfully led various systems integration projects in six TUI subsidiaries around Europe. Since 2005, Alexis Papathanassis is a Professor for Cruise Management and e-Tourism at the Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences. He currently acts as: Dean of the Faculty of Business Management & Services, Co-Director of the Institute for Maritime Tourism and Chairman of the Cruise Research Society. He is also visiting Professor at the Bremen University of Applied Sciences and the Russian Academy of Foreign Trade, and a member of the German Tourism Research Society. He also works regularly as a consultant for a number of tour operators and cruise companies. Alexis’ publication activity mainly focuses on the cruise sector and comprises over 60 contributions in textbooks, peer-reviewed scientific journals and conferences
This
book addresses innovation management and product development in the cruise
tourism industry. It explains how experience management has evolved from a
strictly company-level, product- or service-focused tactical task to an
industry-wide strategic challenge, and analyses the role of intangible
reputational aspects of cruise experiences, as well as peripheral components
and stakeholders, as increasingly important factors for customer acquisition
and retention. Safety and risk issues are a central theme, as well as the
cruise sector’s environmental and socio-economic impacts. Lastly, the book considers
the increasing size of cruise vessels and the accompanying standardisation of
facilities and itineraries, in conjunction with the hybridisation of cruise
passengers in connection with expanding the competitive boundaries and intensity
of competition in the cruise sector. The book approaches these issues as more
than a mere public relations campaign, recognising the fact that they have since
become the very essence of strategic cruise business development.